Newsletter 2020-4

CMA 20-04 09th Dec 2020

Black Belt Grading and Awards

The annual Black Belt grading started with a chilly morning for the candidates. The 1st grades were well prepared and performed with strong spirit all day. The 2nd and 3rd degrees wrote very good essays on the higher principles Shao Chi Chuan and were able to answer the oral questions very well. The 1st grades too had to answer the oral questions on technical matters, training responsibilities and protocols.

There was great support by Instructors and students from Invercargill to Auckland and places in between. It was great to see the endurance and determination of the 1st grades and the skills demonstrated by the seniors in the advanced forms and other tests. It is also heartening to see the enthusiastic participation by the students and instructors who had come to the event.

Over a hundred instructors, students and guests celebrated our 45th anniversary with a very nice dinner at the North & South Gourmet. After dinner we adjourned to HQ for the awards with short speeches by Master Kinney, Master Simons and myself.

Mr Dave Clarke, talked about the Penelope Lake Award which was instituted after the tragic death of Penelope to commemorate her, as well as to honour a person who has given more than the call of duty in training for the year. Jo Lake, one of the assistant instructors at the Terrace Tai Chi Chuan Branch taught by Aaron Lavack Laoshi is this year’s very deserving recipient.

We congratulate the following for their good performance and successful promotion.

1st Degree:
Nick Scott (Papanui)
Kent Gallagher (Greymouth)
Brendon Russ (Greymouth)

3rd Degree:
Mr Chris Mackenzie (Cashmere)
Mr David McQueen (North Canterbury)

4th Degree:
Mr Philip Marshall (Kelburn)
Mr Nick Haslett (Papanui)
Mr Nic Morrison (HQ)

It was a very nice get together to mull over the performance of everyone at the grading, events during the year, our 45 years of training and the direction for the future over a few drinks.

Once again, I would like to thank the students and instructors for their support at the grading and their outstanding loyalty in the past 45 years. Our future depends on your enthusiasm and continued support to continue improving and growing Chans Martial Arts.

Christmas & New Year

We will be breaking up for Christmas and New Year Holidays very soon. HQ will have its last training for the year on the 22nd of December and have the 1st day back on the 5th of January. If your classes are not yet running by the 5th of January, you can ask permission from your chief instructor to train at HQ till your regular classes resume. 

It is a good idea to have a plan for training during the holidays. A three 30 minute sessions a week with: 1) stretching, 2) patterns & 3) bag work, will help to keep you in good shape and to hit the ground running when classes begin in 2021.

Focus in training

Continue to work on centre axis control, and on the ‘rounded’ shape to get more relaxed in your techniques. Enjoy your feel of sequential flow, leverage and delivery. Try not to blast, pull or push in the side kicks. Train with balance support and slowly extend your leg fully with 20 or more repetitions a time.

The simplest way to work on the ‘fighting mentality’ is just by visualising your opponent in all your drills. The sustained mental focus in training can calm the mind in a way that is similar to our breathing exercises. The advanced practitioner should work on Yi and Qi once the above are mastered.

These are the essentials of “The Stress-Free Way.”

Finally, we wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Better New Year!

May Qi be with you,
Grandmaster SC Chan

Newsletter 2020-3

CMA 20-03 15th Sep 2020

Successful Camp

It was unfortunate that there was still community transmission in Auckland and Waikato leading up to camp. As the alert levels were not eased, the Auckland members were unable to attend camp. As all flights were subjected to social distancing rules three of our Black Belts from Wellington missing out on camp as well. Air New Zealand also changed the flights of seven of our camp attendees on the Saturday of camp so they would have missed the Sunday sessions. Fortunately, Mr Scott Martin and Ms Amanda Ellis managed to convince Air New Zealand that we are one big bubble and everyone were able to travel home as scheduled. That is an excellent initiative from Mr Martin and communication skills from Ms Ellis! 

I was quite apprehensive about how camp will run under level 2 restrictions, especially when we were over the hundred person limit. However, the plan to separate everyone into groups and the use of masks for all contact drills worked well. Camp commander, Mr Davidson, organised ample sanitisation stations for good hygiene and the use of three gyms to ensure that we were able to keep the adequate social distance. 

A number of the sessions were broadcasted on zoom so that the people who were deprived of attending could still have some benefit from this camp. 

The main technical item discussed was the further elaboration of the concept of ‘Jing’ and the use of ‘Yi.’ ‘Jing’ is often misunderstood as just explosive power. Even though ‘Jing’ can be explosive, just forceful blasting is not the kind of ‘Jing’ we want. Forceful blasting is to be avoided, as it will eventually damage your body. Your knees, hips, elbows, shoulders, as well as your heart and arterial system, will get damaged by forceful blasting. Our ‘Jing’ should be purely generated with ‘Yi’ alone and not with any physical force. Both Huang Tai Shi and Yek Tai Shi warned against the use of ‘Horizontal Force’ (forceful blasting) versus ‘Vertical Force’ (effortless Jing).

The other major topic was about training the mind for fighting. This is necessary to complement our largely technical programme. We discussed the 1) Determination to train 2) Commitment to fight 3) Calmness under fire & 5) Tactics & Strategies.

We also reviewed all the drills in our syllabus defining how the STD drills should be practised.  Clear explanations were given to the Small Circle Principles in the Chin Na techniques.

We held a comprehensive assistant instructors course where we officially certified twenty-eight assistant instructors. The candidates for 1st degree that were nominated by their chief instructors were put through their paces as usual.

Even though it was wet and cold at times, the weather conditions were not unpleasant for most of our activities. The celebration dinner was pretty good, with ample servings of tasty food. We really enjoyed the venison and whitebait on the menu. Overall, we had a very successful camp despite the challenges. Well done Mr Davidson and his crew. It will be remembered for being quite different from the previous ones.

Invitations for Black Belt Grading

The candidates for the annual Black Belt grading are invited after they have had years of regular training and assessed on their attendance of advanced classes, participation in major events, technical performance together with the evolving theoretical knowledge of our system. After careful consideration by the master's council, the following are invited for:

1st Degree:

Nick Scott (Papanui)

Kent Gallagher (Greymouth)

Brendon Russ (Greymouth)

Charlene Wells (Ponsonby)

3rd Degree:

Mr Chris McKenzie (Cashmere)

Mr David McQueen (North Canterbury)

4th Degree:

Mr Philip Marshall (Kelburn)

Mr Nick Haslett (Papanui)

Mr Nic Morrison (HQ)

Training

Both Tai Chi Chuan and Shao Chi Chuan training are great for keeping you fit and healthy and will boost your immune system. 

1.       If you have a cough, cold or generally unwell, please stay away from classes till you are completely clear of symptoms.

2.      We should practice greeting each other with our traditional salutation instead of shaking hands or hugging.

3.      Wash your hands with soap and water immediately when you come through the door for training.

4.      Scan the QR code and sign the register for contact tracing. 

5.      We should practice contact drills such as Pushing Hands, Chin Na, Takedowns & Ground Fighting at level 2 with no more than the same two partners a session.

6.      We will cancel classes if the situation requires it and you will be informed.

7.      If you cannot make classes or classes are not available in your area, set 1 hour aside every day to practice a) breathing & meditation exercises, b) stretching exercises c) patterns & d) bag work if you have one.

Healthy Practices

1.      Wear a mask when out and about at level 3 & 4.

2.      Do not get closer than 2 metres to anyone.

3.      Do not touch your face or mask

4.      Do not touch door handles, handrails, countertops with your bare hands in public places, or wear disposable rubber gloves and discard safely afterwards, or use hand sanitiser if you cannot wash your hands.

5.      Eat healthily with sufficient Vitamin C.

6.      Get some sun every day or supplement with Vitamin D.

7.      Prepare to have enough emergency rations for 3 weeks.

8.      Try to keep active by taking regular walks, gardening, making things or playing music.

9.      Get tested for COVID 19 if you have any of the symptoms.

10.   Keep in touch with family & friends, especially those who are by themselves.

Focus In Training

Do continue to work on centre axis control, and on the ‘round’ shape to be more relaxed. Try to enjoy your sequential flow, leverage and delivery. 

We must work on training the fighting mentality as soon as you are competent with techniques in the combination and pattern drills. It is always necessary to refine your techniques but this has to be practised with fighting in mind. The sustained mental focus in training will also calm the mind in a way that is similar to our breathing exercises.

We must fully commit to the development of ‘Yi’ - ‘Qi’ - ‘Jing’ to fulfill the full promise of “The Stress-Free Way.”

May Qi be with you,   

Grandmaster SC Chan